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Ask Yvette

Dear Yvette

Our puppy constant grabs things he knows are not his such as shoes and Kleenex. When we take these things from him, he barks when we scold him. Fitz seems to be spiting us on purpose. How can we get this stubborn dog to know we mean business?

Frank

You're in plenty of company with this problem. Many dogs are attracted to items such as shoes and paper products. Although your pup's behavior is annoying, you can relax a little knowing it is normal.

Unfortunately, many people accidentally encourage their dog to continue misbehaving. Attention is a reward that can fuel the fire. Regardless how much you scold, chances are it won't fix your problem. Unless your dog is sensitive to noise, scolding isn't a consequence.

First, social dogs love attention. Even if you feel your dog gets enough, he may want more. And chances are he loves to play. When young dogs grab forbidden objects, owners typically run to save the item. Grabbing can become a game of chase from the dog's perspective.

On the other hand, when puppies lie quietly with a bone, owners relish the silence. They tiptoe around the dog relieved the animal is finally behaving.

This sets up a very powerful reward system. “If I do the right thing, I am ignored. If I grab forbidden objects, we play chase.” There are very few dogs that will behave under those training conditions. It is better to be praised than punished. It is better to be punished than ignored.

Puppies will be tempted. Young dogs will also repeat actions that are rewarded. In response, owners need to control all the consequences for successful results.

First, if you cannot supervise an animal, then use a crate. You cannot train a dog if you are physically not present. Provide safe busy toys such as stuffed Kongs to keep the dog happy and occupied.

Next, ensure that your dog has acceptable items to play with. Rotate toys and chew bones. Otherwise the items loose their novelty.

When your dog settles to chew or play with an appropriate item, reward this with treats, attention or play. After all, he could be chewing your coffee table. But he isn't. That's something to encourage.

On the other hand, forbidden items need to loose their appeal. For many dogs, Bitter Apple works well. It's a taste deterrent spray that many dogs find unappealing. Prior to using the product, spray a little on your hand. If your dog appears to like the taste, don't use it. Try an alternate product or brand.

Put away all shoes, Kleenex boxes etc. Choose one old shoe that you no longer want to keep. Remove all loose or potentially dangerous items from the shoe. Spray it thoroughly with Bitter Apple. Leave the shoe out. You need to supervise, but do not hover. When your dog decides to try the shoe, it should taste horrible. “Shoes taste bad.”

Since you have no desire to save the object, you don't have to enter into a game of chase. Instead you can calmly take the item away.

Similarly, you can do set ups with Kleenex, paper and other items.

Ideally, you should teach a dog to drop items on command. It's not difficult to teach and provides you with another strategy. You can calmly ask the dog to bring it and drop it.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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